EU-LEVEL TECHNICAL GUIDANCE ON ADAPTING BUILDINGS TO CLIMATE CHANGE

The report comprises two parts, published separately: broader technical guidance and a best practice guidance for concrete applications.

The technical guidance starts with an overview of existing EU-level policies and standards relating to adaptation in buildings. This is followed by a summary of the current state of structural design building standards at a European and national level, with a focus on climate resilience in buildings. It then provides an overview of climate vulnerabilities and risk assessment for buildings, and a possible method for rating the climate resilience of buildings.

The  best practice guidance:

• Provides technical guidance on climate-adaptation measures that are relevant for both new and existing buildings across the different climatic zones of Europe;
• Presents adaptation solutions for the climate risks that affect the built environment most;
• Demonstrates the actions that can be taken to improve building performance. This offers strategies for owners, operators, users, policy makers, engineers, architects and insurers.

This EU-level guidance is also a contribution towards the integration of the principle of climate resilience of buildings into the implementation of EU Green Deal initiatives such as the Renovation Wave, the New European Bauhaus, the Climate Adaptation Strategy, the revisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and of the Construction Products Regulation, the Level(s) sustainability framework for buildings, Green Public Procurement, the Construction Transition Pathway, the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, and EU funding programmes such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, InvestEU, and regional funding.